Charging Chassis Batteries

sealevel ram wrote:
Is it OK to hook up a battery charger to the bank of chassis batteries without disconnecting them?

I am plugged in to AC in my garage.

Aren't you charging already if plugged in to AC?

sealevel ram wrote:
Is it OK to hook up a battery charger to the bank of chassis batteries without disconnecting them?

I am plugged in to AC in my garage.

you wrote 'chassis batteries' which to most of us means the engine or starting battery. if you mean that then most of the RVs with which I am familiar do not charge the chassis battery(ies) when the RV is plugged into shore power. hence your question. I'm pretty sure the answer is yes simply because when I need to charge the battery in my jeep I just hook up a charger and let 'er rip. I know the techs at my service garage disconnect a battery before applying the charger.

if you meant the bank of coach batteries (the batteries that supply 12v power to your interior lights, furnace fan, etc. then those batteries should be charged or charging when you're hooked up to shore power, running the genny or parked in the sun (if you have solar panels). is charging not taking place??

Yes. I installed a small automatic battery charger on my last rig.

sealevel ram wrote:
Is it OK to hook up a battery charger to the bank of chassis batteries without disconnecting them?

I am plugged in to AC in my garage.

assuming your on board converter does not charge them then absolutely OK hook up a charger to chassis batterys without disconnecting them
If equipped with a disconnect switch I would turn it off

the answer is YES. it is ok to do it that way...
it doesnt matter how many chargers one wants to connect, ALL chargers have built in regulators that will prevent one charger from damaging another... your unit is NOT a sailboat, but for the sake of explaination, we will use a boat as an example here..
its normal and common on sailboats to have an engine driven alternator, a shore power charger, and a solar array all connected into the system at the same time...
and they may all be working at the same time, but whichever charger is putting out the most amps is the dominant charger, and the others will automatically shut down...
when that dominant charger shuts off or quits working for some reason, the next most powerful charger will automatically wake up and take its place...

and if one chooses to connect ANOTHER charger into the system, it doesnt matter because the chargers know what to do... no worries.

Yes OK to use small automatic charger.
Although I recommend the Trik-L-Start combiner that will pull off the house battery when charging voltage is present.

sealevel ram wrote:
Is it OK to hook up a battery charger to the bank of chassis batteries without disconnecting them?

I am plugged in to AC in my garage.

THink about your HOUSE batteries.. The Converter is hooked up all the time and yes it is a battery charger.

The answer is Yes. it is OK with one exception.

Some chargers are designed to go as high as 16 volts or more in the "Desulfate" or "Equlize" mode.. You might consider disconnecting under those conditions.. But anything under 15 volts leave it connected.